Endoscopic forceps and clips are routinely used by endoscopists for mucosal biopsy and closure of a luminal defect created for therapeutic purposes or iatrogenically. The endoscopic approach is desirable in many circumstances because it is minimally invasive. However, the size of typical endoscopic clips and forceps are limited by the relatively small diameter of the working channel of commercially available endoscopes. Conventional biopsy forceps are limited to target areas of approximately five millimeters or less in diameter. The resection of larger tissue samples requires multiple passages. Conventional endoscopic clips are limited by the same constraints as conventional endoscopic forceps. As such, multiple clips may be needed to close larger defects. This may lead to complications and unnecessarily extends the time it takes to perform a procedure.
Accordingly, there is a need for endoscopic clips and forceps that fit within the working channel of a conventional endoscope, yet that are able to expand to a large enough size to fixate large defects, to remove large tissue samples, or to close mucosal defects in a single passage.